PrepTest 152

Xavier is closest to agreeing with this, but we don't know his opinion on outdoor seating that's away from a street with heavy traffic. Miranda states that outdoor-only seating is a bad idea, but she may be basing that more on choice than on the preference of most people. Neither clearly has an opinion on this answer, so they can't agree on it.

Xavier doesn't talk about banks at all, so this answer can be eliminated on that front alone. Miranda talks about banks, but she ties her criticism into the amount of competition, so we can't commit her to agreeing with this answer choice, either.

While both Xavier and Miranda tie their criticism of the new fast food joint to the seating, they may have other reasons to believe the restaurant was likely to fail, so we can't commit either to having an opinion on this answer.

Both tie their criticism to the exclusivity of outdoor seating, not having some outdoor seating. Another answer where neither of the speaker's has a clear opinion.

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Argument

Valid or Flawed:
Flawed

Question Type:
Point of Agreement

Stimulus Summary:
X: It's not surprising the new McKingdy's went out of business since it only had outdoor seating, requiring diners to breath in exhaust fumes.

M: An outdoor-seating only fast food joint was likely to fail, so it was irresponsible to lend them money.

Answer Anticipation:
They both seems to agree that the new food place lacked indoor seating, and it was a bad idea.

Answer Explanation:
Xavier wasn't surprised that the restaurant failed. Miranda thinks it was irresponsible to lend money to the venture. Both of those statements are strong enough to support the contention that they found it to be risky.

Key Takeaway:
For Point of Agreement (and Point at Issue) questions, incorrect answers will frequently bring up ideas that neither speaker has a clear opinion on (or, only one of the speakers does). If it's not guaranteed that a speaker has an opinion on an answer, that answer can be safely eliminated.